New '89 Hawk owner

[aclyde]

Hello Hawk community, I'm diving in with my new '89 Hawk.

I owned a few bikes years ago ('78 Honda CB400, Nighthawk CB700, Suzuki DR650) but have always loved the look of the NT650. I saw this one online recently and bought it, sight unseen, from a dealer in NW Pennsylvania.

I've barely had a chance to ride it but it appears to be in great shape, 19K miles. Unfortunately I got no service history other than new fork seals and a couple other things done by the dealer. Anyone recognize it? I'd love to connect with a previous owner on whatever work they might have done on it.

I've always wanted to learn some basic mechanic skills but on my previous bikes all I managed was fluid/filter changes, fuses, etc. A 33-year-old Honda seemed like a good bet for a bike I can learn to work on and also do some easy pleasure riding.

[harpo]

You picked up a classic! Looks bone stock too. The bike is Honda reliable, and I doubt your bike will need much work. Check brake pads, chain / sprockets ware, and maybe change oil and coolant soon.

There is a wealth of information on this site with a very helpful community. Others will add to this post with more helpful details I suspect.

Welcome, and congratulations on your new Hawk purchase!

For sure one unique thing about the Hawk is how the chain changes tension as the rear suspension moves through the travel. Check out what others say. I lay on across the seat to compress the suspension and then check chain. It should look very loose when unloaded.

https://www.hawkgtforum.com/forum/honda-hawk-gt-bros-discussions/mechanical-and-technical/946739-your-chain-is-loose

[aclyde]

Thanks for the heads up on the slack issue Harpo, will check it out.

[Maritime]

Welcome, new Hawk owner here too. not new to bike fixing though, I do a lot of that. The Hawk is the best handling bike I've ridden, and I've ridden a few. I love it and it's now added to the list of Bikes I'll never sell. The other is my first real bike, a 79 GL1000.

[bones]

Welcome to the board.

There is no other place on the internet that has more information and helpful people for all things Hawk than this site, right here.

[zipster]

Welcome! I'm a couple months ahead of you on the journey (although I had a hawk back when they were still current!). So far it's been a lot of fun, and pretty easy to work on

[jspeed53]

Perhaps an experienced Hawker in the Wash, D.C. area can give it a look over. There’s a number of things that may not be readily apparent ... like Cush Rubber wear, carb boot cracks, A great way to immerse into Hawkdom is taking part in the annual CTHR ... essentially a rally of East Coast Hawk riders ... Chuck (69falcon) hosts the event (he conjures the best Brazilian BBQ ever). Its a blend of tech session, riding, bench racing and oogling modded Hawks, eating and sharing suds with a great crew. Look up CTHR in Announcements section. I have attended this event a few times and highly recommend it!

Oh, yeah ... Welcome to the Forum

[aclyde]

Thanks for all the tips and welcoming words.

My first project is dealing with an overheating issue. It went all the way to red sitting at idle for about 15 minutes, dumped a bunch of coolant from the overflow. I swapped out the radiator cap and drained/filled coolant, to no effect. I'm moving on to the thermostat and the thermo switch.

Wish me luck, I'm missing some good riding weather here in DC.

[6]

Thanks for all the tips and welcoming words.

My first project is dealing with an overheating issue. It went all the way to red sitting at idle for about 15 minutes, dumped a bunch of coolant from the overflow. I swapped out the radiator cap and drained/filled coolant, to no effect. I'm moving on to the thermostat and the thermo switch.

Wish me luck, I'm missing some good riding weather here in DC.

That's not good.

Is the fan coming on? That radiator fan should trigger and start moving some air. I'd check there first.

Does it happen riding, or just sitting? Idleing a bike for 15 min is not a normal situation for them to be in. Then need air moving over that radiator, so if the Dan is not fanning....

[bones]

When it gets really hot, my bike's temp will climb a bit and the fan will come on.
But that is only in 100*+ weather pretty much standing still.
Get moving just a little and the temp comes back down very quickly.

[squirrelman]

Thanks for all the tips and welcoming words.

My first project is dealing with an overheating issue. It went all the way to red sitting at idle for about 15 minutes, dumped a bunch of coolant from the overflow. I swapped out the radiator cap and drained/filled coolant, to no effect. I'm moving on to the thermostat and the thermo switch.

Wish me luck, I'm missing some good riding weather here in DC.

bikes don't like and should not be subjected to long periods of idling, most especially if you haven't recently checked coolant quantity under the rad cap. did the fan kick on ? if not, the thermoswitch probably failed.

after a refill you'll need to check coolant level under the rad cap after it's cooled from the first ride to top up again.

[69Falcon]

Also, when filling fresh coolant, you should burp it (cap off, start bike, crack the throttle to get the coolant gurgling in the filler neck) while on the centerstand or at least held straight up. I recommend adding a manual fan switch so you can turn the fan on whenever you want, or at least adding a lower temp fan switch. This will fit, it opens at 85*c instead of 95*c like the oem unit. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...CALLO5KB&psc=1

[bones]

Chuck's idea about an external fan switch is a good one.
If I had continued to commute on my Hawk I would have added one.

[BillnOroville]

There are several critical parts of the cooling system. You may already know them so this will be a re-run. Overflow bottle should be pretty clean and filled between the lines. Hose from radiator cap to overflow bottle must allow fluid to go to and from the overflow bottle without leaking. They can get plugged up. The radiator cap is a two-way sealed valve. I controls coolant flow TO and From the overflow bottle. It it can't flow coolant will blow out the cap. It has seal and allow passage of coolant to and from the overflow bottle. The thermostat must open when it should and can be tested in a pan on the stove. The temperature sender that works the temperature gage is in the thermostat housing and can be tested for resistance. The fan temperature switch is on the left side of the radiator and it can be tested also in a pan of water for the correct resistance (it basically grounds the fan to make it work). The fan can be tested by grounding the wire to that goes to the temperature fan switch.

If all above are working, which I actually had a Hawk where I tested all this and it was all good but it got hot and blew out coolant. Removing the valve covers, I found a head bolt that was not torgued down. Yes. it was stripped. I am hoping your problem is not that.

[aclyde]

So my overheating problem continues, could use help on the next step. The Hawk is still new to me (bought in April), and I'm like a Level 2 newbie on motorcycle repairs.

When I first got it, the bike overheated at idle on a cool day, dumped a bunch of coolant. Here's what I've done so far:

-Replaced radiator cap
-Replaced thermostat
-Replaced fan temp switch (OEM, not the low-temp rec'd by 69Falcon, although I would do that too if it might help)
-Drained/refilled/topped coolant
-Checked overflow tank

At this point, the bike seems to run fine except that the temp still climbs up to the red in about 20 mins of around-town riding, at which point I pull over and curse.

As far as I can tell, the fan is not working. I did the fan test (stuck a wire into the fan switch connecter, put the wire to ground, with battery on) and got nothing.

Here's the question: I have no idea how to fix a fan, but I could take it out and give it a go. Or, I could get it to the one shop in my area that works on older bikes and doesn't have a year-long waiting list, and probably not see the bike for weeks.

Is it possible that a working fan would fix my issue, so I should just try deal with that? Or if not, what should I be doing next?

I have not checked head bolts and don't know how to check for blockages or other problems. I don't see any leaks anywhere. The overflow tank is at the upper line. When I ran the bike briefly with the radiator cap off, the coolant gurgled pretty good, which I took to mean it was getting around.

Any advice is appreciated. best AClyde